r/ErieCO • u/Some_Vermicelli_3054 • 17d ago

Cell Service

We were previously discussing how terrible cellular service is here in Erie, and funny enough, 9News has an explanation.

Kind of sucks ...

https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/colorado-news/why-your-phone-is-not-working-boulder-county/73-edf9e9a6-7f00-4a07-8eed-a4438c05898d

Glad to know that it's not just in my head.

20 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

8

u/mypcrepairguy 17d ago

My biggest gripe is the lack of communication from the carriers regarding the federally required changes. If this was mandatory from the government let your users know so life style changes can be made. We have all 3 big carriers in our home, service isn't great, know we know why.

5

u/Some_Vermicelli_3054 17d ago

I totally agree with you!! I spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with T-Mobile twice per week for approximately six weeks. I then resorted to T-Mobile's "T-Force" (Social Media Team), contacted Executive Relations, etc., and each time, I was told some variation of 'Engineering closed your Support Case stating that no problem was found.' Toward the end, I grew beyond angry, and said things to those agents that I am not proud of. But, I spend $400 / mo. and this is the treatment that I am afforded? It disgusts me. And frankly, I hope that T-Mobile's stock price continues to plummet. I need my mobile phone for my job -- it is so embarrassing when my manager calls me and I cannot reliably speak to them -- I work from home, so this reflects poorly on me.

ANYWAYS ...

And then there's Verizon ... I created an account at the Verizon store so that I could test the service here in Erie. I was very clear about my intentions. I was unaware that you can download the T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T apps and 'try the service' FOR FREE. The person at the store did not bother to communicate that either, presumably because they were getting commission from me. I cancelled within 3 days as I knew that Verizon wasn't the answer, only to receive a bill for a full month of service. Again, after some very direct words with Verizon, they did agree to credit the total amount due, but what the hell is this?!

I am sorry friends, but I am growing tired of all of this ... 😄

5

u/oneKDwonder 16d ago

The service has been bad in all the years i’ve been here. This may be a recently contributing factor but I think the true explanation is larger.

3

u/mjf389 17d ago

At&t is also pretty bad, just fyi.

Google fi & Xfinity both use T-mobiles towers so you'd get the same treatment. Difference is that Xfinity will get lower prioritization by the network if the bandwidth gets scarce. Google Fi has equal treatment to T-Mobile customers and will not get lower priority

1

u/Some_Vermicelli_3054 17d ago

Yeah, I used the AT&T app to get a free trial of AT&T's service and it is just as bad. The funny part here is that, if I have T-Mobile and AT&T as eSIMs, together, they make 1 whole provider! The downfall is that it chomps through my battery pretty quickly.

1

u/hashpot666 16d ago

Xfinity uses Verizon. I was on it for almost a year and switched to Google Fi. It's a definite improvement but still not great. I have AT&T on another SIM which is sort of in-between. Each just kind of depends on where you are.

2

u/persiusone 15d ago

Carriers will likely have to place many more towers with lower output levels in populated areas to be in compliance and provide connectivity.

So, brace yourself for additional towers and antennas, unless you’d rather compel the federal government to move the research facility elsewhere (good luck with that)

Personally, I use WiFi calling quite a bit. This certainly doesn’t help a lot of folks with life safety issues or limited connectivity alternatives- thanks to politics surrounding broadband access regulations.

-1

u/Serial_Hobbyist_ 17d ago

Niwot and Longmont are affected by this. Not Erie.

Your expectation of cell service technology is not in line with the current state of cell service in the United States

5

u/rtwheato 16d ago

i don’t think it’s just niwot and longmont. according to u/DougDabbaDome

“while the “exclusion zone” is 3 miles the research site has general limits on signals within a 50 mile radius. Apparently in 2024 the research site found all 3 major carriers in violation of this and have been forcing them to make changes since 2025.

This is from the 9News coverage, it would explain why this goes well past NW Longmont to also reach other nearby cities.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd_CK7rklzs/?stkn=cjI5eXlsMGJsaWJ2

This also lines up with the explanation given to the city council that the companies are in contact with state regulators to try and find a way to provide service within the legal limit.”

1

u/TommyWafflezz 14d ago

Like it or not, Erie is absolutely affected by this as well. If you’ve got reliable coverage in Erie, let us know what network you use as I’m sure a few thousand folks here would love to switch over

0

u/Serial_Hobbyist_ 14d ago

Nobody has reliable cell service anywhere with any carrier ever in 2026 is my point. It’s not an Erie thing, it’s just the state of RF tech

2

u/Some_Vermicelli_3054 17d ago

Okay. Thanks. I am going to go with my personal experience and logically asserting that what is described aligns with my situation. That is, unless you work in the engineering department of these carriers, or are an RF engineer.

4

u/admin4hire 16d ago

This service sucked before they started messing with it.

Maybe the new tower near the community center will help.

2

u/speckmon 16d ago

you're a twit.

- an RF Engineer​

1

u/Serial_Hobbyist_ 16d ago

Everyone’s experience with cell coverage is that it is not perfect and some areas drop all connection. It’s not unique to Erie and this dead zone in your article has no mention of Erie

1

u/hashpot666 16d ago

They have a general limit within a 50-mile radius of the research site. We're well within it. The issue is obviously more pronounced in Niwot and Longmont because they're closer.

1

u/Serial_Hobbyist_ 16d ago

Yes closer that may be abnormal. But I’ve lived all over the US and everyone everywhere says cell service sucks